By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Looking to snap their seven-game series opener losing streak, RHP Nick Pivetta and the Philadelphia Phillies (71-62) will take on veteran southpaw Jose Quintana and the National League-best Chicago Cubs (79-54) in the first of a three-game set Friday evening at Citizens Bank Park. Former Phillies 2008 World Series Most Valuable Player Cole Hamels will make his return to the venue.
The Phillies salvaged Wednesday's series finale, edging the Washington Nationals, 8-6. Leadoff hitter Roman Quinn went 3-5 with a triple and two runs scored, while first baseman Carlos Santana launched his 20th home run with a go-ahead grand slam in the fifth. Jose Bautista delivered in the seventh with a game-winning RBI single to center, before RHP Tommy Hunter shut the door with a two-scoreless-inning save, his third of the season.
The Phillies have won 18 of their 30 games against National League Central opponents. Although they lost two of three against the Cubs, June 5-7 at Wrigley Field, the Phillies still managed to outscore manager Joe Maddon's squad, 14-12. The Phillies last won consecutive games on August 16-17 against the New York Mets.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Chicago Cubs (79-54) | Philadelphia Phillies (71-62) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | Jose Quintana | RHP | Nick Pivetta | ||
| (11-9, 4.33 ERA) | (7-10, 4.76 ERA) | ||||
LHP Jose Quintana, Age: 29
- 2018 vs. PHI: 0-0, 3.18 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 5 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 HR, 2 BB, 10 SO, 0.882 WHIP
- Career vs. PHI: 0-1, 5.94 ERA, 3 G, 3 GS, 16 2/3 IP, 17 H, 11 R, 11 ER, HR, 8 BB, 22 SO, 1.500 WHIP
- Career at Citizens Bank Park: 0-1, 7.36 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 11 IP, 14 H, 9 R, 9 ER, HR, 6 BB, 12 SO, 1.818 WHIP
RHP Nick Pivetta, Age: 25
- 2018 vs. CHC: 0-1, 7.20 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, HR, BB, 6 SO, 1.400 WHIP
- Career vs. CHC: 1-1, 5.40 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 10 IP, 12 H, 7 R, 6 ER, HR, 5 BB, 11 SO, 1.700 WHIP
- Career at Citizens Bank Park: 8-8, 4.59 ERA, 26 G, 25 GS, 137 1/3 IP, 131 H, 74 R, 70 ER, 25 HR, 36 BB, 169 SO, 1.216 WHIP
Starting Lineups:
| Chicago Cubs (79-54) | Philadelphia Phillies (71-62) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | 2B | Daniel Murphy | L | 1 | RF | Roman Quinn | S |
| 2 | SS | Javier Baez | R | 2 | LF | Rhys Hoskins | R |
| 3 | 1B | Anthony Rizzo | L | 3 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S |
| 4 | RF | Ben Zobrist | S | 4 | C | Wilson Ramos | R |
| 5 | CF | Albert Almora Jr. | R | 5 | 1B | Carlos Santana | S |
| 6 | C | Willson Contreras | R | 6 | 3B | Asdrubal Cabrera | S |
| 7 | LF | Ian Happ | S | 7 | SS | Scott Kingery | R |
| 8 | P | Jose Quintana | R | 8 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L |
| 9 | 3B | David Bote | R | 9 | P | Nick Pivetta | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 7:05 p.m.
- TV: NBCSP, MLBN
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- With 29 games to go, the Phillies trail both the National League East and second National League Wild Card spot by three games.
- Friday's Postseason Race Matchups:
- Milwaukee Brewers (RHP Jhoulys Chacin) at Washington Nationals (RHP Tanner Roark), 7:05 p.m.
- Pittsburgh Pirates (RHP Jameson Taillon) at Atlanta Braves (RHP Anibal Sanchez), 7:35 p.m.
- Cincinnati Reds (RHP Homer Bailey) at St. Louis Cardinals (LHP Austin Gomber), 8:15 p.m.
- Arizona Diamondbacks (RHP Zack Greinke) at Los Angeles Dodgers (LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu), 10:10 p.m.
- Colorado Rockies (RHP Antonio Senzatela) at San Diego Padres (RHP Brett Kennedy), 10:10 p.m.
- With Santana's Wednesday grand slam, the Phillies now have four players with 20 home runs this season, joining Rhys Hoskins (26), Maikel Franco (22) and Odubel Herrera (20). The 2018 Phillies are the 10th team in franchise history with four or more players with 20 home runs, with the last occurrence in 2016: Franco (25), Ryan Howard (25), Tommy Joseph (21) and Freddy Galvis (20).
- Since his August 14 recall from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, RHP Hector Neris has thrown nine scoreless appearances (8 IP), striking out 18 of his 28 batters faced.
- Active Phillies hit streaks of five or more games
- Jorge Alfaro (7 games): 26 AB, 2 R, 8 H, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 0 BB, 7 SO, .308/.333/.538
- Roman Quinn (7): 25 AB, 6 R, 13 H, HR, 5 RBI, BB, 5 SO, .520/.538/.840
- Odubel Herrera (5): 18 AB, 3 R, 6 H, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 2 SO, .333/.400/.722
- Although Bautista has slashed just .080/.080/.320 in 25 career plate appearances against Quintana, he has slugged a pair of home runs and produced five RBI against the left-hander. Bautista has a .500/.800/.500 slash line spanning five plate appearances in a Phillies uniform thus far (click to expand).
What's Next:
Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018: vs. Chicago Cubs, 7:05 p.m.
- Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pa.
- RHP Kyle Hendricks (10-10, 3.86 ERA) vs. RHP Zach Eflin (9-5, 3.99 ERA)
- TV: NBCSP; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
